Mechanism for stenciling glass or other ceramic containers having curved surfaces



p 17, 1935. H. s. BRICKELL, JR 2,014,373

MECHANISM FOR STENCILING GLASS OR OTHER CERAMIC CONTAINERS HAVING CURVED SURFACES Filed May 5, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Qvwmtoa FHarr y 15'. Brickell, J2

Sept. 17, 1935. s BRlCKELL, JR 2,014,373

MECHANISM FOR STENCILING GLASS OR OTHER CERAMIC CONTAINERS HAVING CURVED SURFACES Filed May- 5, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 17, 1935 MECHANISM FOR STENGILING cuss on ornna cnaamo commas navmo ooavnn summons Harry S. Brickell, In, Pittsburgh, Pa, assignor to Basel-Atlas Glass Company, Wheeling, W. Va.

a corporation of West Virginia Application May 5, 1933, Serial No 669,662

70mins.

The stenclling of bottles, jars, and other containers made of glass or similar material, does not involve any serious problem ifthe bottles or jars have a plane surface upon which the word or design is to be stenciled. Just the contrary is true in the stenciling'of bottles, jars, tumblers and similar glass containers having curved surfaces upon which the word or design is to be applied. This problem is encountered in the stenciling of all round bottles and jars, oval bottles and jars, round or oval tapering bottles and Jars, and in fact in all glass containers which have a curved surface, whether such curved surface extends lengthwise of the glass container or transversely of the container, or in all directions as in'the case of containers having convex or spherical surfaces to be stenciled; and here-- inafter when a curved surface is mentioned it will be understood to include any and all curved surfaces of glass containers, as distinguished from containers having flat or plane surfaces. It

will also be understood that the present inven tion relates solely to the stenciling of curved surfaces as distinguished from the printing or other decoration of curved surfaces; the problems being entirely distinct.

It is old tostencil curved surfaces by rotating the object having the curved surface, but rather complex machines are required, the operation is slow, and numerous diillculties are encountered. In accordance with the present invention curved bottles, jars, tumblers, and other similar containers are stenciled with substantially the same ease and rapidity as flat ware, and the mechanism employed is substantially as simple and inexpensive as stenciling machines for flat ware.

The broad subject matter of the invention is disclosed and claimed in an application Serial No. 669,445, flied May 4, 1933, and the present subiect matter relates to a particular machine. Ac-

cordinsly, novel, subject matter shown but not claimed herein, is claimed in the aforesaid application.

- The present invention will be understood by those skilled in the art from the following de-- c Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view-taken on line 4-4 of Figure 2.

-. Referring to-the drawings in more detail, nu-

meral I refers to a table upon which the mechanism is mounted. Numeral 2 indicates a base- 5' member provided with a trough or. channel 3, adapted to receive the curved containers to be stenciled. In the particular form illustrated, the trough is adapted to hold three containers, as shown in Figure 3, though it is apparent of course 10 that the number of containers in the trough may be varied to suit conditions. The base member is divided into three sections; the two end'sections being stationaryand fixed to the table I,

and the center section being vertically recipro- '15 cable in a manner to be hereinafter described.

Numeral 4 refers to a stencil frame which'may be mounted in any desired manner above the base member 2, as by means of standards 5 carried by the table. The transverse frame members 6 di n rectly over the trough 3, are curved to conform to the curvature of the surface of the container to be stenciled. The stencil, which is carried by these transverse frame members, is referred to generally by numeral 1, and is preferably composed of as a sheet of stencil paper 8, in which the letters or other designs are cut and a silk screen 9 cemented to the stencil paper. While this is the preferred form of stencil, the invention is not limited thereto. Silk screen stencils are old and well-known, 30 but only for the purpose of stenciling flat surfaces. My application Serial No. 669,445;referred to her'einbefore, discloses the construction and use of a stencil curved to follow a substantial portion of the surface of a curved bottle, jar or 86 other container. The stencil isshaped to conform exactly to the curvature of the surface to be stenciled, and this is "preferably accomplished by drawing the stencil tightly about one of the articles to be stenciled, as a model. After being 40 thus shaped the stencil is attached to the stencil frame by any desired means, as by screws l0.

'Though it is not essential, yet preferablyv the stencil is strengthened by tape II or the like extending along all sides of the stencil abovethe frame and secured to the stencil and frame. In the present form of the. invention the stencil frame and stencil are stationary and the containers to be stenciled are moved into contact with the stencil. The preferred mechanism for .60

,moving the articles into and out of contact with the stencil will now be described;

Numeral i2 refersto vertically extending connecting rods, which have their upper ends threadedly or otherwise to this center trough member and their lower ends connected to a yoke II. This yoke is adjustably attached to a piston rod H, as by nuts I5, which piston is reciprocated by acylinder Hi. An air line I! leads from any desired source of air under pressure and is connected with the lower end of the cylinder l6. Inthe specific embodiment illustrated air pressure is not supplied to the upper end of the cylinder, which is always open to the atmosphere through a vent |8. The air line I! is provided with a valve Hi to control and regulate the flow of pressure, and to shut off the pressure when the machine is not being used. The line is also provided with-a three-way operating valve 20, which when in one position admits pressure to the lower end of the cylinder I5, and when in the other position shuts off the flow of pressure from the source and permits the pressure in the lower portion of the cylinder to exhaust to atmosphere through bolt 2|.

When pressure is admitted to the lower end of the cylinder the connecting rods |2 will force the center trough section upwardly, against the pressure of springs 22, thereby drawing the stencil tightly about the article to be 'stenciled so that it conforms exactly to the'curvature of the ar-. ticle. It is to be noted that when the trough member has been moved to position to force the stencil tightly about the article, the trough member is still spaced from the stencil frame 4, as indicated by dotted lines in Figure 3, and that the. piston is still spaced from the top of the cylinder l6. Thus the stencil, when the article has been brought into operative position with respect to it is maintained under a strain by the continued pressure in the cylinder. The design is now applied by forcing the thick paint through the stencil by the usual squeegee. When the pressure is released from the cylinder the springs 22 cause the trough member to be quickly lowered vertically thereby carrying the article away from the stencil. The stencil has'sufficient stiffness or body to permit the article to be moved into contact with it or away from it, without smudging. While the present invention is of course adaptable to the stenciling of round containers, oval containers, tapering round or oval containers, etc.,

yet for purposes of illustration 1 have shown round bottles provided with beads near the ends thereof, which is a common construction. When beaded bottles are to be stenciled the frame members 5 have their under sides provided with grooves 24, as shown in Figures '1 and 3, for the purpose of receiving the beads when the bottle is forced upwardly to cause the stencil to be drawn about it. It is unnecessary to provide the grooves in the vertically movable trough member, and

when that member is lowered the beads move out of the grooves, and the bottle is ready to be discharged. a

It is desirable to employ some mechanism to insure the proper position of the articles to be stenciled. In the specific embodiment illustrated 5 I employ a finger 25 which, when in operative position, projects part way across the trough 3 to intercept the bottles or the like as they are moved along the trough. The finger 251s pivotally and slidably mounted on a bolt or the like 70 25' attached to the end of the base member, and has oneend pivotally connected to the upper end of a link 26. This link is pivotally mounted on a stud 21 projecting forwardly from a bracket 28; the bracket being adjustable fore and aft by 7 means of slot .29 and bolts 30. An operating 1e ver 3| extends from the front to the'rear of the base member, and is pivotally and slidably mounted on a bracket 32 attached to theside of one of the stationary sections of the base memher. with the lower end of the link 26. Thus when the operator moves the forward end of the, lever 3| outwardly the finger 25 will be withdrawn, permitting the articles to move forwardly; and when the operator releases the lever the spring 33 will 10 throw the finger 25 back into position to block the passage of the next bottle. In order'that the article to-be stenciled may be positioned exactly, to insure the placing of the design at the proper point on the article the locking mechanism 15 is made adjustable. In setting up the device for thestenciling of a particular bottle, for instance the bottle shown in Figure 3, the screws 30 are loosened so that the bracket 28 can be adjusted backward or forward. The leading bottle and? the bottle about to be stenciled are now moved to bring the latter to'the exact position desired, and the bracket is adjusted to bring the finger 25 against the shoulder of the leading bottle; the

bracket being then secured in position. It will 25.

be understood, of course, that the slot 3| in lever 3| permits the lever to be adjusted backward or forward with the adjustment of the bracket 28, and the bolt or the like 25' is of suflicient length to permit the similar adjust- 50 ment of the finger 25. t

A very brief description of the operation will now be given. The bottles, jars, tumblers, or other containers, of glass or other ceramic material, are placed in the trough or channel of '55 i the base member. In the form, illustrated the channel is adapted to hold three articles. The leading article has been stenciled and is ready to be discharged as soonas the finger 25 is withdrawn. The intermediate article is in position to 40 be stenciled and the 'rear bottle is readyto be, moved forwardly to stenciling position. The finger 25 and associated parts have'been adjusted,

as described hereinbefore, so that the center bottle will be in the exact position desired to receive 45 the design.

.The operator nowturns the valve 20 to open position to admit air under pressure to the lower end of the cylinder 5,'thereby causing the piston rod I, the yoke l3, connecting rods l2 and the 50 center trough member 2, to move upwardly to move the bottle against the stencil whereby the. stencil is caused to wrap itself about the bottle. By reason of the pressure in the lower end of the cylinder the stencil is drawn very tightly about 55 the article, and it will be noted that when the parts are in this position the center base member is still spaced slightly below the stencil frame, and that the piston is still spaced below the top of the cylinder, as shown in Figure 3. Thus the 00 stencil is maintained taut while the paint is forced through the perforations forming the word or other design by moving the squeegee back andforth over the stencil. The degree of pressure admitted to the cylinder, and hence thepressure exerted by the bottle against the stencil, is regulated and controlled by the valve ID. The stenciling operation having been completed, the operator turns the valve 20 to exhaust the pressure from the lower end of the cylinder to the'atmosphere, whereupon the springs 22 quickly force the center trough member downwardly carrying the stenciled bottle away from the curved stencil; the curved stencil having suflicient body or stiffness to prevent any smudging. The stenclling 0! an The rear end of the lever 3| is connected 5 .relates to a particular machine.

article having been now completed the several bottles are now in the same horizontal plane, and in the particular instance illustrated the beads of the bottle are free of the grooves 24. The operator now moves the forward end of the lever 3| to the left to withdraw the finger 25 from the leading bottle. A new bottle is now pushed into the trough thereby moving the last bottle shown in Figure 3 to stenciling position, moving the bottle which has just been stenciled to the leading position and at the same time ejecting the leading bottle shown in Figure 3. In the meantime the lever 3! has been released and the finger 25 springs into the path of the bottle whichhas just been stenciled, and stops it in the proper position to bring the following bottle into stenciling position, whereupon the cycle is repeated.

After the words or designs have been applied to the articles they are fired in the usual manner.

As stated hereinbefore the broad subject matter is disclosed and claimed in my application Serial No. 669,445, and the present subject matter Nevertheless, this machine may be changed and modified in various respects without departing from the spirit of the invention, and the appended claims are intended to include all such changes and modifications.

What I claim is:

1. A machine for stenciling the curved surfaces of containers, including a flexible stencil formed of paper faced with a silk screen having a. curvature conforming tothe curvature of the container, a vertically movable member receiving the containers to be stenciled, and means for'moving the member upwardly to cause the stencil to be wrapped tightly about a substantial portion of the curved container.

2. A machine for stenciling the curved surfaces of containers, including a flexible stencil formed of paper faced with a silk screen having a curvature conforming to the curvature of the container, a frame carrying the stencil, a vertically movable member receiving the container to be stenciled, and means for moving the member upwardly to cause the stencil to be wrapped tightly about a substantial portion of the curved container, the stencil frame and said member being slightly spaced apart when the member has been lifted to bring the container into stenciling relation with the stencil.

3. A machine for stenciling the curved surfaces of containers, including a stencil having a curvature conforming to the curvature of the container, a frame carrying the stencil, a vertically movable member receiving the container to be stenciled, a cylinder and piston rod for moving the member upwardly to cause the stencil to be wrapped tightly about a substantial, portion of the curved container, and springs for lowering the member.

4. A machine for stenciling the curved surfaces of containers provided with beads, including a stencil having a curvature conforming to the curvature of the container, a frame carrying the 'stencil, the'stencil frame having grooves to receive the said heads when the container is moved upward into cooperative relation with the stencil, and meansfor raising and lowering the container.

5. A machine for stenciling the curved surfaces of containers, including a fixed stencil curved to conform to the curvature of the container, a sectional base member arranged beneath the curved stencil, one section of the base member being stationary and another section of the base member being vertically movable to lift the curved cone tainer into stenciling relation with the curved stencil, both of said sections having an aligned channel to receive the containers.

6. A machine for stenciling the curved surfaces of containers, including a fixed stencil curved to conform to the curvature of the container, a sec tional base member below the stencil, the end sections of the member being fixed and the center section being vertically movable to carry the container into stenciling relation with the curved stencil, means for raising and lowering the center member, and the end sections and the center section having an aligned channel to receive the containers.

'7. A machine for stenciling the curved surfaces of containers, including a fixed stencil curved to conform to the curvature of the container, a sectional base member below the stencil, the end sections of the base member beingfixed and the center section being vertically movable to carry the container into stenciling relation with the curved stencil, the end sections and the center section having an aligned channel to receive the containers, a cylinder and piston rod for rais- 

